This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
On May 7, 2020, authorities in New York announced that a man had been charged with fraud for selling coronavirus home test kits to unsuspecting customers.
Henry Gindt II, 34, of New York, sold the test kits for up to $200 each through his telemedicine website YouHealth, which served as a front for the scheme.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, Mr. Gindt misrepresented himself as being connected with a certified lab that would send people their results after they collected nasal specimens with a swab.
Customers received questionnaires about their symptoms and prepaid shipping labels for the bogus lab, but never received the promised results.
Mr. Gindt was charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
He was released on $50,000 bond and has not yet entered a plea.
U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady warned that law enforcement officers were on the lookout for virus-related fraud, saying, “Let this be a message to anyone who wants to scam our fellow citizens during this pandemic: The Department of Justice will take swift action to disrupt your scheme, and then we will arrest you.”
